"What are you? What are these vile creatures?" Perhaps because they were caught off guard by something that was not supposed to exist, the granny was shocked for a moment, but after that, her adaptability was rather quick.
She no longer reeled from shock or fear. Instead, she reached for a sword on the wall that had previously only served as decoration. Unsheathing the weapon, she dashed towards the monstrosities that spilled into her home and sullied it.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
There was no fear in her eyes as she single-handedly started fighting against creatures that she hadn't dreamed about in her worst nightmares.
"Master!" Ning Xi shouted, the other party in the room, shouted in alarm. The old woman might not recognize these creatures but she was a person of the younger generation, and no matter how auspicious and isolated their dojo was, news about 'Evolution Online' still seeped through.
So she knew for a fact that these creatures were the ones from the strange game. But how the hell were they here? In their dojo? And, more importantly, outside of the game? Who was this person?
She stared at Liam with a million questions running through her mind.
On the other side, the old woman was putting on a successful one-woman show. All her movements were precise, crisp, and dazzling. She was single-handedly whipping the soul army into shape.
Observing all of this, Liam ruffled his head. He knew that this was not going to be easy. The woman was a powerful warrior but seeing her fight on equal footing with his level 40 plus minions, the respect he had for her only grew more.
But if things continued going in this direction, it was inevitable that she was going to get hurt. The level difference was simply too much, and his minions were all not freshly forged newbies.
They were already battle prepped. They were holding back right now because of his command, and it was only a matter of time before a slip-up occurred.
Under no circumstance did Liam want that to happen. He did not know a lot of decent human beings in his last life, but this person was one of them.
Perhaps because of their proximity, they had crossed paths in more than one instance, and every single time she had saved him even though he 'belonged' to the detestable Gu family guild.
She did not know who he was, or what his backstory was. She simply saved the whole group without asking a single question. At that time, he had yearned for becoming someone like her, a person who possessed a strength that was even capable of saving the enemies.
And now… here they were… crossing paths again.
"Stop," Liam shouted, his voice resounding loudly amidst the clanging noises. "Remember what you said before. I am not an opponent that you can fight. Let's stop this. I am not here to fight you."
Swing. The granny instantly stopped and her eyes darted toward Liam. Her focus finally shifted from the undead to Liam, and instead of fighting with a craze, she started paying attention.
That's right. Everything started with this brat. He summoned these ungodly things that gave a chill to someone like her. So this was the main person she needed to fight and take down.
She dashed towards Liam, her weapon drawn out like a wild animal.
Liam's eyes widened, but he did not bother even moving an inch. That was because… before the old woman could ever reach him, there was a minion already standing in front of him, Crawford.
The guy sent her flying back. "That's enough. PLEASE listen to me. I do not want to hurt you or your family. I am not an enemy."
Liam knew that the monster nick-named 'Empress' was not one to give up. So naturally, he had another plan. He stepped forward and before the granny could pounce on him once again, he conjured a big old ball of fire.
It was nowhere near what he could do inside the game, but it was enough for now, at least to get her attention. The old woman was already at her limit, and when she saw the ball of fire, just like Liam expected, she collapsed.
What the hell was happening around her?
Liam sighed and walked closer to her. "Relax, please. You cannot win against me, and I am not here to fight with you. I come here in peace. I need to talk to you. This challenge is just for you to take me seriously."
The old woman silently stared at the ground. She seemed to be calming down, but at the same time, there was still hesitation in her eyes.
Seeing this, Liam turned to the other party in the room. "Ning Xi? Can you help her get up and sit? We need to talk. This is important. Don't tell me that you haven't heard about the recent deaths because of the game."
Ning Xi dumbly nodded.
"I am here to tell you that there is more to this," Liam explained. Thankfully, convincing her was easier than convincing the old tigress.
A few minutes later…
Ning Xi closed the dojo for the day, and the grandma and granddaughter pair sat down in front of Liam with solemn expressions. Tea was served, and the duo stared at Liam with a million questions in their minds.
Liam chuckled awkwardly, "Don't ask me for an explanation. I don't have any."
The other two were not in the mood for comedy, so they didn't laugh.
So Liam could only continue. He tried his best to briefly talk about everything without scaring the bejesus out of the duo.
"I am also just like you, trying to figure everything out, just that I know a little bit more. As you can see, the game can do so much more than simply kill players."
The duo nodded, and Liam smiled.
"And I don't think that is the end. I think our world is changing."
